Giorgio Napolitano News

Two of the world's most famous and powerful leaders are meeting in Rome today, when Queen Elizabeth meets Pope Francis in a private audience for the first time. As a pair, they are leaders to billions of people around the world. "If you think about it in terms of soft power then we're talking about

The Vatican dismissed concerns today that Pope Francis could be a target of Italian organized crime because his reforms and campaign against corruption threaten what one mafia expert said were long-time ties between the church and criminal syndicates. "There is no concrete reason that would lead us

After pulling more than 80 bodies from the Mediterranean Sea, Italian authorities are searching for survivors of a ship packed with undocumented immigrants trying to reach Europe's shore. The vessel might have been carrying more than 500 Africans when it reportedly capsized near the tiny Rabbit

By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) NOTABLES REPUBLICANS RELEASE 2012 AUTOPSY: This morning the Republican National Committee unveiled their 2012 election “autopsy,” which also charts a path forward for a party set back on its heels by Mitt Romney’s defeat and other GOP losses last year. ABC’s...

Vice President Joe Biden joked today that his soul might be in jeopardy if he misses a scheduled reception with the U.S. Cardinals in Rome. “We invited the American cardinals to a reception,” Biden told Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic during a bilateral meeting today, according...

By MICHAEL FALCONE (@michaelpfalcone) NOTABLES SELLING THE STATE OF THE UNION — DAY THREE: President Obama has a full schedule today, including a trip to Chicago, the last stop on his State of the Union tour. ABC’s Mary Bruce reports that Obama is expected to...

GLOBAL FEAR$ -THE NUMBER TO WATCH: ITALY’S BOND YIELD…Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s pledge to resign hasn’t done much to assuage investors’ concerns. And here’s a HUGE problem: Italian borrowing costs have set a record for the third day in a row, crossing a dangerous...

Pope Benedict XVI beatified Pope John Paul II Sunday at St. Peter's Square before an estimated one million people, declaring the Polish-born pope to be "Blessed" and putting him one step from sainthood . "He restored to Christianity its true face as a religion of hope," Benedict said in his homily.